Entries in Rebel Wilson
(6)

Long have we waited. Our lands have been barren, our sleep fitful, our souls thirsting for what we have been promised. But hope may yet again have a life in our hearts, because the trailer for the Pitch Perfect sequel has been granted unto us. Aca-praise be.

Honestly, Pitch Perfect 2 is exactly the kind of movie where most of us know long before a trailer hits whether we're a yes or a no. (I'm a yes because when I saw the first one, it was at a three-dollar theater after a happy hour, and I was with resident TFE ray of sunshine Anne Marie. Five-star experience, would recommend.)

That said, the trailer calls irresistably for our scrutiny. Excited to join our acappella brethren and sistren for an evening of good/clean/goof fun featuring extensive cameos from the Top 40 of our recent past? Hop on board.

YES:

Who among ye can resist the bewitching call of pretty, pretty harmonies? Bless this team for hiring a group of actors who sound genuinely lovely when they sing.

Anna Kendrick is as good a leading lady for this mini-franchise as they could possibly have landed. She's such a star, and musical comedy sure is her sweet spot.

Lilly (Hana Mae Lee) licking Beca's nose! A+ character, will need much more of her in the sequel. She brought a welcome dose of genuine weirdness to the first movie and I hope this time around they let her comic chops roam free.

So they cast David Cross as the gatekeeper/emcee of some kind of underground acapella speakeasy? Y'know, that.... sounds pretty right to me.

There is a downright absurd suite of performance outfits we see on the teams, and I am all for it. Can't have show choir world championships without Scottish BDSM enthusiasts, a disco bowling league, prep-school altar boys, or Chili's hostesses.

Ahhh ha ha ha the tagline for this is "The Pitch Is Back." I can't even be mad at that, that's High Cornball genius.

NO:

Pretty pretty harmonies notwithstanding, am I seriously hearing that damn Cups song right now. I'm pretty sure it only just left the Billboard charts/my brain after being beaten into us all for a solid two years and now it is coming back to taunt us all and when will it end, Anna Kendrick, when will it end?!?

This isn't a dialogue-heavy trailer but they still manage to squeeze in several jokes carbon-copied from the first movie. If they don't try to find new sources of humor, this is going to be one stale hour-and-a-half.

Velour blazers on the boys' group are a big, loud no. Apologies, but if they're going to position that Skylar Whatsisface as a romantic lead there is going to need to be a strict moratorium on velour blazers. It is for the good of mankind that I speak.

Snooty European rivals have been done, and they have been done, and they have been done some more.

MAYBE SO:

This is Elizabeth Banks' directorial debut, which is a bit of a question mark. She produced the original and clearly gets what made it so beloved, plus her scenes playing commentator with John Michael Higgins are far and away the funniest parts of the first movie and of this trailer. Could mean good things.

Pillow fights, slow-motion group hugs, team mud-wrestling.. it looks like they plan to lean pretty hard into the rag-tag misfit sisterhood thing. Not inherently a bad thing but can often tip into triteness on the quick.

For a minute there, Rebel Wilson was all over the place and totally happening. If she nails it here she might be able to kickstart that momentum again. I hope they give her more to do than recycle bits from the first movie..

Remember the career we all thought Hailee Steinfield was gonna have? Do you think that's still in the cards?

2. It starts off in a long shot and a guy's all far away and walking toward the camera and you're all “Uh-oh am I going to have to watch him walk the whole way?” and you do and it takes three minutes or more. “Ooh, look at me, I'm sculpting with time!” Fuck you.

Vanity Fair a great photo of Elizabeth Debicki (the new Jordan Baker from The Great Gatsby)Reuters Cannes may ditch austerity for glitzy Gatsby opening. Stay tunedIn Contention Will Smith eyeing remake of The Wild Bunch. Although he's not fond of "bunches" since he turned down Django because the part wasn't big enough. At least Will Smith understands that Christoph Waltz wasn't a "Supporting Actor"

Film Doctor 11 questions about The Great GatsbyGuardian RIP Aubrey Woods, the character actor from films like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and i09 first images from The Wachowski Siblings Jupiter Ascending suggest that it will be even worse than Cloud Atlas! i09 beautiful concept art from Iron Man ThreePlaybill Potentially great news. HBO picked up a series starring the underused Jonathan Groff, one of a group of gay friends in San Francisco. I hope they randomly let him sing in it.Empire Hailee Steinfeld to star in For the Dogs, which sounds plagiaristically much like The Professional with Natalie Portman. Sam Worthington costarsMNPP Who Wore it Best: Henry Cavill vs. Hugh Jackman Cinema Blend Rebel Wilson headlining a TV series? Not what I was expecting on the heels of two hit movies I must say

And here's the trailer to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. from Joss Whedon and Marvel.

I can't say that trailer sells me on it at all but Whedon has yet to make bad television, so I will definitely be their for the premiere. Whether or not it holds me, who can say? (Angel is the only Whedon series I didn't get religious about watching). You?

8:01 Auspicious Beginnings - the sound is already out of sync on the intro!8:02 Fixed. But Ooh the reaction shots are already rough. Anne Hathaway and Sally Field don't look so happy to be there. Jessica Chastain isn't even faking it well and she usually looks so cheerful. Or maybe I'm projecting since I'm bone tired from the Oscar Nom run up and early morning.8:04 Sam Rubin, critic, is drooling on the IMPORTANT. FAMOUS. PEOPLE.

8:05 For some reason Henry Cavill are presenting the first award. Because when you think of Superman you always think... Best Ensemble?

Ensemble: Silver Linings PlaybookYoung Actor/Actress: Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild (who reads her speech from an iPhone which is adorable)

8:18 Some awkward banter for Famke Jannsen where she's not supposed to know what famous action movie quotes are like "I'll be back". Um.... banter isn't supposed to make the star look bad. Do you think she's annoyed that she was a Bond girl before the currrent Bond hoopla?

Geekologie What if Disney villains had won? Fun illustrations of our favorites including Ursula & Maleficent Pajiba reads my mind on the Olivia Newton-John / John Travolta Christmas Album !!! Well they read my mind except the part where the article is all obsessed about John Travolta's fake hair instead of Sandy & Danny reunited again! Film Dr 10 Notes on Looper and the reciprocal nature of violenceFleshbot *NSFW* Daniel Radcliffe gets naked for The F Word and Kill Your Darlings. After this and Equus... maybe he's telling us he's a naturist?

Gawker Liam Neeson does his naked part for charity on "Ellen"Badass Digest interesting piece on the splintering of pop culture. Film may no longer rule, but neither does anything else.PlaybillMiss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, the musically inclined feature that starred Frances McDormand, Amy Adams and Lee Pace may be headed for the Broadway musical stage In ContentionBeasts of the Southern Wild won't be honored at the SAG Awards who have ruled it ineligible. This could put a dent in Quvenzhané Wallis Best Actress hopes if you ask me since SAG has historically liked little girl performances even more than Oscar.

Team ExperiencePop Elegantarium Alexa loves Looper and Looper paintings by the director's brotherStale Popcorn Glenn kicks off a miniseries 31 Horrors with Cat People (1982)MNPP JA loves Barry Levinson's The BaySerious Film Michael survives ocean storms with The Life of Pi

Devine Wrath fills out our summer report card with love for Brave and Cosmopolis among othersThe Many Rantings of John also shares his summer movie crushes: Charlize's eyes, Jeremy's arms, Channing's everything...Boy Culture Madonna endorses Obama, wears her politics on her sleeve backPopWatch a Sex & The City for gays* called Hunting Season. *As if the original wasn't?Cinema Blend Katey's Operation Kino podcast takes on Bachelorette. They all hated it but the discussion is interesting... the way they're forced to really grapple with their negative feelings.

Movie|Line thinks Rebel Wilson (Bachelorette, Pitch Perfect) is the most interesting person in Hollywood right nowPajiba "the first five people I'd audition for a film about Amy Poehler & Will Arnett's marriage"Hollywood Elsewhere Joe Wright calls Anna Karenina "a ballet with words" and claims influence from the great filmmaking team of Powell & Pressburger (The Red Shoes / Black Narcissus)Playbill interviews Sutton Foster post Bunheads (the show has been renewed. yay!)Awards Daily a documentary on the life of Roger Ebert by the director of his beloved Hoop Dreams. It could happen!The Hairpin remembers Montgomery Clift's long suicide and major stardom

And finally here's the poster for David O. Russell's latest comedy (?) Silver Linings Playbook about two crazies in love.

The film is in black and white but Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence's antidepressants have been cut with melange*.

I've been in Los Angeles the past few days for press and the premiere of my film, Bachelorette. However, I have to say the highlight of this week is a guest spot on The Film Experience. I used to be an assistant and every day I would read this blog. And every day it would make me feel like life was worth living and that film was the primary reason to keep going. So thank you to Nathaniel for asking me to contribute but ultimately thank you for running this site and bringing joy to little cinephiles everywhere.

Me kissing Rebel's ring. As I should.

In the comments, someone asked if the three leading actresses in my film Bachelorette (Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, and Isla Fisher) were my first choice for those roles.

I don't write with specific actors in mind. I also LOATHE auditions. Whether it be for a play or a film, a lead role or a small one-line character. I just don't like them. When I work with my theater company in Los Angeles, I usually just meet with someone whose work I love, who I think might work in the role, then we have dinner or coffee and discuss the character and the script. Then I usually go back and tailor the roles for their specific strengths and incorporate any changes that came out of our discussions.

I cast the film the same way. All three of them contacted me either because they saw the play or because they'd read the script. We talked. We fell in love. We moved forward. All three of those girls are actresses I admire. Women I've watched from afar (as a rabid fan) over the last ten years. So yes. They were my first and only choices because I was lucky enough to get in a room with them and talk them into doing it.

Lizzy, Kirsten and Isla at the LA premiere

All three of them contacted me either because they saw the play or because they'd read the script. We talked. We fell in love. We moved forward.

I can't imagine a more perfect trio. They are not only hard workers and hysterically funny but they are also, in my humble opinion, three of the most brilliant (and occasionally grossly underrated) actresses of our generation. I am eternally grateful to have met and worked with them.